Arthur Coia, president of the Laborers' International
Union of North America, notified his union's executive board Monday
that the laborers' in-house prosecutor had decided to bring charges
against him, but he said he was innocent of all allegations.

Coia did not describe the charges,but federal
officials said last week that the prosecutor, Robert Luskin,would
accuse him of associating with members of organized crime,of acquiescing
in letting mobsters run parts of the union and of receiving favors
from service providers.

At a meeting of the union's board in Washington,
Coia read a statement that he later made public."There is
no truth in the allegations," Coia said in the statement.
"I am the man I say I am."

Coia faces charges in an unusual arrangement
in which the government agreed, as part of the process of cleaning
up the long-corrupt union, to let in-house investigators and an
in-house prosecutor carry out the housecleaning."Do I believe
in this reform, now that I am its target?" Coia asked. "Does
this board believe in it, now that we are sorely tested? Today,
for each of us, that answer must be yes."

Some federal officials had said Coia might
resign even before charges were brought, rendering the investigation
moot. But he indicated Monday that he would stay and fight the
charges, which will be brought before an in-house judge, Peter
Vaira. Federal officials say they expect Luskin to bring the charges
before Friday.

Coia said that some friends "advise
me to pursue my career as a labor attorney, a path that would
offer far higher financial rewards, far less personal stress and
far less private pain."

But he said the most important thing was
to establish the truth. "I therefore have only one choice
and that is to stand for this truth. That is the legacy I choose
to leave my union, my family, my children and grandchildren, the
legacy of a man who fought for what he knew to be true."

Coia did not hide some bitterness about the
investigation. "I never asked for, I never expected, I never
wanted special treatment or consideration," Coia said. "And
Lord knows,as you know, I never got it. You know about the investigations,
the depositions, the countless questions, the endless examinations,
the smallest detail of my personal life dissected, every action
disputed, every motive distrusted. That has been my lot as your
leader, and I have accepted it."